This book is the result of collaborative efforts which have taken place over the past 20 years within the COLOSS network, when the factor “bee origin” was first put into the equation of factors involved in colony losses. It aims to provide beekeepers, apicultural students, and beekeeping enthusiasts with the scientific background necessary to understand these new ideas, so that future beekeeping may be based on existing “local” bee genotypes which can then be improved by selective breeding. The work is divided into two parts. The first section briefly tells the story of honey bees, their origins and their long association with humans, the development of bee breeding and selection and finally the scientific and anecdotal evidence that show that local bees are better for the environment and for beekeeping itself. The second part provides a practical guide to techniques for sustainable bee breeding and selection, ranging from setting up performance testing, to the cost of selection, through methods for rearing queens and making selection decisions, including many aspects related to the control of the very special mating biology of the honey bee. Authored by an expert team of more than 30 scientists, extension specialists and beekeepers from 16 countries around the world, the present synopsis provides all theoretical and practical aspects of honey bee breeding. It is rich in figures and vivid case studies, including hands-on interviews with bee breeders and other stakeholders. Final, a supplementary video can be accessed online as well as directly from the print book; simply download the free Springer Nature More Media App and scan the link in the accompanying figure caption. This book is the result of collaborative efforts which have taken place over the past 20 years within the COLOSS network, when the factor “bee origin” was first put into the equation of factors involved in colony losses. It aims to provide beekeepers, apicultural students, and beekeeping enthusiasts with the scientific background necessary to understand these new ideas, so that future beekeeping may be based on existing “local” bee genotypes which can then be improved by selective breeding. The work is divided into two parts. The first section briefly tells the story of honey bees, their origins and their long association with humans, the development of bee breeding and selection and finally the scientific and anecdotal evidence that show that local bees are better for the environment and for beekeeping itself. The second part provides a practical guide to techniques for sustainable bee breeding and selection, ranging from setting up performance testing, to the cost of selection, through methods for rearing queens and making selection decisions, including many aspects related to the control of the very special mating biology of the honey bee. Authored by an expert team of more than 30 scientists, extension specialists and beekeepers from 16 countries around the world, the present synopsis provides all theoretical and practical aspects of honey bee breeding. It is rich in figures and vivid case studies, including hands-on interviews with bee breeders and other stakeholders. Final, a supplementary video can be accessed online as well as directly from the print book; simply download the free Springer Nature More Media App and scan the link in the accompanying figure caption. Cecilia Costa has a degree in Agricultural Science and a PhD in Agricultural Biotechnologies. She fell in love with honey bees as a teenager and started her career keeping bees and working in a local beekeepers’ association. She then won a position in the bee team of CREA, the Italian Agricultural Research Council, where she has been working for over 20 years, focusing on honey bee breeding and biodiversity of the Italian subspecies Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis mellifera siciliana , with special attention to disease resistance traits, genotype-environment interactions and factors affecting the development and welfare of bee colonies. She is strongly involved in the “COLOSS Assocation for the prevention of honey bee colony losses” and is coordinating an EU Horizon project. Cecilia is author of about 70 scientific publications and a frequent lecturer in beekeeping events. Marina Meixner took up beekeeping when she was a student of biology at the university of Frankfurt. After completing her PhD, she worked as a scientist at the universities of Halle and Frankfurt in Germany, and at Washington State University in the U.S. In 2007 she joined the bee institute in Kirchhain, Germany, as deputy head and became head of institute in 2022. Her research interests are in the fields of honey bee diversity and local adaptation, genetics, and honey bee health and pathology. Her scientific achievements include more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, complemented by numerous technical reports. Since 2008, she serves on the editorial board of the journal Apidologie. She also serv